A couple years ago, I posted this recipe for black bean burritos on our blog because it was a great quick meal that I made often. I just started making these burritos again to pack up for lunches during the work week. They re-heat really well and are delicious! I thought I would redo the recipe for all of you to give it a fresh face, plus add in all the changes I have made over the years.

The key to this recipe is a good tortilla. I previously used whole wheat tortillas, until I found a great white tortilla by La Tortilla Factory that is light and has less calories then the wheat ones I used previously. I also have been using these tortillas for my favorite fajitas and they are so good!

It’s now an annual tradition to share my goals for the year on this blog (Here were my goals for 2010 and 2012…apparently having a newborn baby made me less goal-oriented in 2011.) Instead of drafting lofty resolutions, I always like to break it down into smaller goals that I’m more likely to accomplish throughout the year. I don’t always follow up on all of them, but it’s nice to sit down and prioritize how I want to focus my life. Here are some of my goals for 2013:

Read 26 books in 2013. Last year, I set 26 books as my Goodreads 2012 reading challenge number, but I fell short by 14 books…oops. I’m hoping to try to reach this challenge this year by skipping the tv more often each evening and reading instead.

Try yoga again. Since moving to the ‘burbs, I haven’t belonged to a gym or any kind of fitness studio. I recently bought a 10-pack of yoga classes through one of those group coupon deals and I’m hoping to incorporate more fitness into my weekly schedule.

Focus on eating more “real” breakfasts and lunches. I’m pretty good at making a “real” dinner each night for our family, but often I find myself just grabbing whatever throughout the day whenever I’m hungry. I made this Greek Veggie Wrap yesterday for lunch and it was so good (and healthy!) I’m hoping to try a lot more smoothie recipes for breakfast as well.

Keep organizing! Even though we have lived in our home for over a year now, I still find there are spots that I haven’t touched since I initially unpacked them. I’m planning on doing some major basement reorganizing this winter and some garage projects this spring when it starts to warm up a bit.

Grow 2 Sisters 2 Cities. While K and I are very proud how much our little blog has grown in the past few years, we want to keep growing and improving it every day. I want to try many new recipes this year and also continue to work on my food photography and editing skills.

This is one of my favorite recipes that I make. Not necessarily my favorite to make, but it’s my favorite to eat after I prepare it. For those of you that have made risotto before, you know that it is labor-intensive but the end result are something to feel proud about. I have made this recipe a bunch of times but never during the daylight to be able to get a good photo of it. My favorite main course to make with this particular risotto is Chicken Francese. I’ll give you my recipe in a future post.

Today I made the asparagus risotto for lunch for my boyfriend and me, which was the first time I have made it on it’s own. It was delicious as ever and even filling as the main entree. Risottos at restaurants can get really unhealthy with the abundance of creams and cheeses that are commonly in them. You don’t need all that to make a good risotto. This recipe is actually one of the healthiest recipes I have made of risotto and it tastes like it is loaded with cream and cheese. The lemon juice and zest add a great lemony flavor to the risotto, but is not overwhelming.

Start by rinsing the asparagus, breaking off the tough bottoms and cutting into ½ inch pieces. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and keep on the side. Blanch asparagus pieces in boiling water for 2 minutes. Immediately drain asparagus and then submerge into ice water; set aside.

In a Dutch oven or medium sized pot melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add onions to butter and cook until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add in rice and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes. Add in lemon juice and wine, stir until evaporated. In a separate pot, bring 4 cups of chicken broth to a simmer, keep on low heat.

Add ½ cup of broth at a time and continuously stir until absorbed. Repeat, a half cup at a time stirring constantly, until there is no more broth remaining. This should take about 20 minutes for all the broth to be absorbed. The rice will be creamy yet slightly chewy. Mix in Parmesan cheese until combined. Then stir in asparagus and lemon zest, and then salt and pepper to taste .

3.2.1682

Weight Watchers Points Plus- 5 PointsPlus per serving

Source- Adapted from Weight Watchers Online and Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book

I’m not much of a sandwich person…I hardly ever make them or eat them. For lunches, I tend to eat leftover dinners, salads, or even just cheese and crackers. After I had Baby T, I found myself making one recipe in particular for lunch- cold sesame noodles! I think I would be ok with having this dish for lunch for the rest of my life. It also makes a great picnic/travel snack since it’s a cold dish and doesn’t have anything that would spoil if left out for awhile. I’ve adapted this recipe from Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys (a great cookbook!)

Directions:
Cook the egg noodles or pasta according to the package directions. Drain and toss them with the sesame oil to coat. Cover and let it cool in the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini with the water. Then, whisk in the vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir in the garlic, 3/4 of the scallion, and the ginger.

Once the noodles are cool, add in the sauce and stir together. Garnish with the remaining scallion and chopped peanuts. Drizzle it with a drop or two of the chili oil (don’t overdo it with the chili oil- this stuff is spicy!)

-m

p.s. Forgot to mention- I personally think this tastes even better the next day!

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I didn’t want to post this. But, I lost a mean game of rock-paper-scissors. Therefore my dear readers, you must endure a post about the man sandwich from my husband:

Perhaps looking for a something to do with that leftover turkey? If you’re hungry, try making this “hell of a sandwich”. This idea was inspired by his trip to South Africa. He was so impressed by the quality of the meat and eggs and produce in South Africa, that he wanted to reconstruct a version of a double decker sandwich he had while down there. Here in the US, your avocado might not be as green, your eggs might not be as deep a rich orange, and you may have to use turkey instead of ostrich or springbok, but if you have a good appetite, you will probably enjoy this hell of a sandwich.

Directions:
-Toast your favorite bread, three slices.
-Cook six strips of thick cut bacon in a pan.
-Once the bacon is done, fry two eggs, without adding any butter or milk. Put the eggs right in the pan that you fried the bacon in, without removing the grease.
-Once the eggs are done, put the previously cooked meat in the frying pan to warm it up.
-Take the bread out, and create the following layers:

1-first layer: bacon, then egg, then avocado.
2- second layer: Put down another layer of bread. Cover it with the cheese. Then put down the tomato, the meat, and then finally the mayonnaise.

Now you have one hell of a sandwich. Cut her in half and open wide!

I knew I should have gone with scissors…next time.

-m

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While we were skiing a couple weekends ago, husband M’s aunt N made us a great chicken salad for lunch. She mailed me the recipe and I combined it with another recipe I found on epicurious to make my own version this past weekend. I also used the leftover curry powder mix I had mixed together for a chicken roti dish I made a little while back. It turned out a bit spicier than your average chicken salad, but I love spice!

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut it into the 3/4-inch chunks. Mix together the chicken, mayo, Greek yogurt, curry powder (add half now, and more to taste once everything is combined), lime juice, honey, ground ginger, salt, pepper, grapes, and celery. Serve on sliced French baguette (also very good by itself without bread).